


Father Knows Best

by amiraculousladybug



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Light Angst, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-21
Updated: 2016-01-21
Packaged: 2018-05-15 07:11:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5776360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amiraculousladybug/pseuds/amiraculousladybug
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gabriel reflects on his poor way of handling the responsibilities of a father and happier days with Adrien's mother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Father Knows Best

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure where this came from. It just popped into my head during my shower and I wrote it down before I lost my inspiration.

He had never been cut out to be a father from the start.

Gabriel had told Estelle as much, all those years ago when she had announced she wanted a baby. But, of course, as Gabriel well knew, there was no arguing with Estelle. She always got her way sooner or later—Gabriel was wrapped around her finger, and she had great talents of persuasion. And so it hadn't taken very long after that discussion before she came to him in his office waving a pregnancy test in her hand jubilantly. He could remember the way her face had looked that day, if he thought about it, but he didn't like to. No, that sheer ecstatic elation was better left to subconscious memory.

When Adrien had been born, Estelle had offered him to Gabriel to hold. He had refused, too concerned that he might drop the baby to allow himself to hold him. Estelle had pouted at him but hadn't pestered him, still too worn out from the labor of childbirth to argue. She would come to him in his office later, when she had been discharged from the hospital, with Adrien in her arms, and set him down in Gabriel's arms then and show him how best to hold him. The metal of the ring on her right hand had been cool against the back of his palm as she'd guided his hand to the back of their son's neck to support his head. When Adrien squirmed and began to fuss, Gabriel froze, uncertain what to do, and Estelle had thrown back her head and laughed. She had come into the office time and time again after that, always with Adrien, always to coax Gabriel into holding their son.

His relationship with Adrien had never been a close one. Estelle was the one constantly by Adrien's side, feeding him, bathing him, dressing him, loving him. She called him her “little kitten” and her “sunshine,” and Adrien's first word was, to no one's surprise, “Mama.” Gabriel was the awkward parent, the one who appeared in Adrien's life at mealtimes and little else. When Adrien scraped his knee, he went to his mother with tears rolling down his cheeks. When he had a nightmare, it was his mother's side of the bed that he approached to request to sleep with them. When he drew a picture that he was proud of, he brought it to show to his mother.

Gabriel would have been lying if he said he wasn't bothered by this at all, but he felt it was for the best. He frankly didn't know how to handle Adrien. Estelle had a way with their son that he had never seen in any other mother with her child. It was best to let her take charge.

And then, one day, Estelle disappeared, and Gabriel was left on his own to care for a child he hardly knew.

It had taken days for Adrien to emerge from his room after his mother's disappearance. When he finally did, he was not the happy boy Gabriel remembered. He was miserable and downcast, and who could blame him? Certainly not Gabriel, who set about searching for someone to look after Adrien at once. Nathalie Sancoeur was no Estelle Agreste, but she was efficient, and she proved very early on that she could not only look after Adrien's needs but also organize Gabriel's meetings, appointments, and events. Adrien seemed to take to her a little, enough that he could manage a smile again two months after his mother's disappearance. Gabriel remained isolated from his son's life, as he always had, and perhaps in his own grief he withdrew further into his work than was necessary. What else could he do? He didn't know how to be a father the way Estelle had been a mother.

He had at least tried to make sure Adrien's needs were looked after and that he would have the tools for a successful life. Homeschooling, to ensure he had the best education money could buy. Fencing lessons, to keep him in shape. Piano, to give him an appreciation for the fine arts. Chinese, to teach him a key language for business. Modeling, to teach him responsibility.

Estelle had often remarked before her disappearance that Adrien would be well-cut out for modeling.

Maybe Gabriel hadn't been the best father in the world. Maybe he was a terrible father. But he had tried to do his best by Adrien through the years, as well as he could. The boy was every inch his mother's son. His smile, his kindness, his willingness to help, all of it breathed Estelle's influence. Gabriel hoped that proved he had done something right.

And now, here he was, Adrien looking up at him hopefully with his arm around the shoulders of a petite blue-eyed girl. Adrien looked happier than Gabriel could ever remember him being since losing his mother. His green eyes were alight, his smile radiant.

“Father,” Adrien said, “I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Marinette.” And in his expression Gabriel could see once more the little boy who had made paper airplanes out of the office stationery, who had run down the halls of the mansion with his prized stuffed cat squeezed in his arms, who had called him “Papa.”

He could see his son.

 


End file.
